Momma Knows: The Daring Book for Girls

If you're looking for a gift a girl will treasure for years to come, pick up The Daring Book for Girls, by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. This gorgeous volume, with it's vibrant blue cover, vintage font title, and silver glitter makes an amazing gift for girls of all ages. Inside are secrets every girl must learn. This book is a collection of instructions for girls of all ages to do all sorts of things from telling ghost stories to changing a tire, from making a tree swing to reading tide charts. If you need to know how to do something, it's in there.

My seven-year-old daughter went nuts when I brought it home and has been begging me every since to do the fun things like build a scooter and make friendship bracelets. She has even attached a purple post-it to page 11, where she has been practicing her cursive writing. Not even her teacher has been able to inspire that!

Going through the book with your daughter will bring back memories of girlhood. Have you ever played Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board? I hadn't, but now I know how to play and also a little bit about the history of levitation. That's bang for your buck. The book teaches young girls valuable skills as well. The section on building a campfire is followed immediately by a collection of campfire songs. And the section on writing letters is more important than ever in our world of text message shorthand.

It's practically an encyclopedia (and illustrated at that!) of everything a girl could want to know. Plus, it's a great resource for parents who may not have such vast knowledge floating around their brains. The other day my kids asked me what the stock market was. Okay, I majored in business and I had a hard time putting it into elementary terms. But I can answer intelligently simply by turning to page 226 and reading the section title Finance: Interest, Stocks and Bonds. How cool is that?

Perhaps what struck me the most were instructions for things I not only wished I'd learned earlier, but I'm still learning! I know I will be referencing How to Negotiate a Salary, and Public Speaking again. Yes, this is a wonderful book for girls and the people who love them! And here's a secret for grown up girls: If you don't have a girl to buy for, pick up a copy anyway. It may come in handy someday!